capon

C3A1P3O1N1
US, UK/ˈkeɪpən/

noun

A cockerel which has been gelded and fattened for the table.

OriginMiddle English capoun ← Old English capūn ← Old Northern French capon →
UncommonScrabble 9
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Meanings

capon1

nouncapon (plural capons)

plural capons

  1. A cockerel which has been gelded and fattened for the table.

    […] You cannot feed capons so.

    c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]
    2 more examples

    […] And then, the Iustice / In faire round belly, with good Capon lin'd,

    c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vii]

    “With vegetables in it, you know. Then turbot with thick sauce, then ... roast beef; and mind it’s good. Yes, and capons, perhaps, and then sweets.”

    1901 [1878], Constance Garnett, transl., Anna Karenina, translation of Анна Каренина (Anna Karenina) by Leo Tolstoy
verbcapon (third-person singular simple present capons, present participle caponing, simple past and past participle caponed)

present singular third person capons · participle present caponing · participle past caponed · past caponed

  1. transitiveTo castrate; to make a capon of.

Capon2

proper noun
  1. A surname.

Origin

  1. Vulgar Latin*cappō
  2. Latincāpō, cāpōnem
  3. Old Northern Frenchcapon
  4. Old Englishcapūn
  5. Middle Englishcapoun
  6. Englishcapon

Inherited from Middle English capoun, from Old English capūn, from Old Northern French capon (Old French chapon), from Latin cāpō, cāpōnem (Vulgar Latin *cappō).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Old Northern French

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans kapoen
  • kapoencockerel grown for food
Bulgarian кастриран петел
  • кастриран петел (kastriran petel)cockerel grown for food
Catalan capó
  • capócockerel grown for food
Chinese Cantonese 鏾雞 /𫔌鸡
  • 鏾雞 /𫔌鸡cockerel grown for food
Chinese Mandarin 閹雞 /阉鸡
  • 閹雞 /阉鸡 (yānjī)cockerel grown for food
Czech kapoun
  • kapouncockerel grown for food
Danish kapun
  • kapuncockerel grown for food
Dutch kapoen
  • kapoencockerel grown for food
Esperanto kapono
  • kaponocockerel grown for food
Finnish salvukukko, kapuuni
  • salvukukkocockerel grown for food
  • kapuunicockerel grown for food
French chapon
  • chaponcockerel grown for food
German Kapaun
  • Kapauncockerel grown for food
Greek καπόνι
  • καπόνι (kapóni)cockerel grown for food
Hungarian kappan
  • kappancockerel grown for food
Icelandic geldhani
  • geldhanicockerel grown for food
Italian cappone
  • capponecockerel grown for food
Latin capo
  • capocockerel grown for food
Latvian ramits gailis
  • ramits gailiscockerel grown for food
Lithuanian romytas gaidys
  • romytas gaidyscockerel grown for food
Norwegian kapun
  • kapuncockerel grown for food
Polish kapłon
  • kapłoncockerel grown for food
Portuguese capão
  • capãocockerel grown for food
Romanian clapon, căpun
  • claponcockerel grown for food
  • căpuncockerel grown for food
  • copuncockerel grown for food
Russian каплу́н
  • каплу́н (kaplún)cockerel grown for food
Spanish capón
  • capóncockerel grown for food
Swedish kapun
  • kapuncockerel grown for food
Welsh capwllt, capwrn
  • capwlltcockerel grown for food
  • capwrncockerel grown for food
Zulu iqhude elitheniweyo
  • iqhude elitheniweyocockerel grown for food

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Poncacopanpocan
Cite this entry
APA

capon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/capon

MLA

“capon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/capon. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “capon,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/capon.

Source: capon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.